Help awaits Dolphins in draft’s middle rounds

Perhaps the Miami Dolphins finally solve their tight end riddle this year. Perhaps this year, after cycling through tight ends such as Charles Clay, Dion Sims, Jordan Cameron and Julius Thomas in the past few years, the Dolphins find a long-term solution.

One of the tight ends in the middle rounds of this year’s draft (April 26-28) could be that guy.

Miami is unspectacular at tight end right now with MarQueis Gray, A.J. Derby and Thomas Duarte. There’s a chance the Dolphins will re-sign veteran free agent Anthony Fasano. But there’s no NFL-proven threat in that group when it comes to stretching the field.

The top-tier tight ends in the draft are Hayden Hurst (South Carolina) and Dallas Goedert (South Dakota State). Hurst is a likely first-round selection, and Goedert is a possible first-round selection.

After that there’s Mark Andrews (Oklahoma), Mike Gesicki (Penn State), Dalton Schultz (Stanford), Jordan Aikens (Central Florida), Durham Smythe (Notre Dame), Will Dissly (Washington), Troy Fumagalli (Wisconsin), Ian Thomas (Indiana) and Chris Herndon (University of Miami), among others.

Most of those second-tier tight ends project to go in the second through fifth rounds.

It’s a decent group, but not overly exciting. Most excel at receiving. Some stretch the field, and some are red-zone threats. Either skill fits Miami’s desire.

The Dolphins have one second-round pick, one third-round pick and two fourthround picks. It’s unlikely that Miami will use the No. 11 pick on a tight end, and it’s doubtful they use their second-round pick (No. 42) on one.

But in the third and fourth rounds, Miami could find starting-caliber help.

Or maybe the Dolphins like what they have in Derby, a three-year veteran, and Gray. Coach Adam Gase speaks highly of Derby’s receiving skills and adaptability. He thinks Derby, who has bounced around among New England (2015-16), Denver (2016-17) and Miami (2017), could work well with quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

Derby, a quarterback at Iowa, Coffeyville Community College and Arkansas until his senior year, had 19 receptions for 224 yards and one touchdown in nine games with Denver in 2017. The previous year he totaled 16 receptions for 160 yards in six games with Denver. He had two receptions for 20 yards in two games last year with Miami.

Gray, a quarterback and wide receiver at Minnesota, is a five-year veteran who has been with the Dolphins for the past two years.

Duarte, the 2016 seventh-round pick from UCLA, has been slow to develop, and unless he excels at special teams, he’ll have a hard time finding a roster spot this season.

Miami’s in a tough spot at tight end. But the Dolphins need help. They should draft a tight end in the middle rounds, coach him up, and hope for the best.